Last year Facebook announced it was using an algorithm, called EdgeRank, to determine what stories users will see in their NewsFeed. With more and more businesses using the social platform to connect with their customers, it’s important to remember how EdgeRank affects which updates your fans will see from your business page.

The infographic below gives a great explanation of what EdgeRank is and why you, as a marketer for your business, should keep this algorithm in mind when creating Facebook content.

Want to learn more about Facebook EdgeRank and marketing your business on Facebook? Call the Internet marketing experts at 888.920.9778 or contact us here.

Targeting for advertisements on Facebook have recently included data from the sites users are visiting, loyalty programs users may belong to, and the products that users are purchasing online. However, over the past few years, with the growth of Internet marketing, Facebook has expanded the data being used for ad targeting to reach a broader market.

As of February, Facebook has partnered with 3rd party data providers Acxiom, Datalogix, and Epsilon. Through these partnerships, 500+ specific targeting segments have been added, called Partner Categories. For example, a company can now target moms who purchase cereal or someone looking to buy a sedan that lives near a certain car dealership. These 3rd party data providers access more information about consumers’ buying habits while still protecting their privacy.

The biggest advantage to Partner Categories is that companies can now access users spending habits across their desktop and mobile devices. This expansion to mobile will provide these companies with the everyday buying habits of users on the go and the items they will likely purchase again. The idea of Facebook’s partnerships is to use data from social media sites to enable companies to market better to their customers’ needs.

This does not mean that users will be bombarded with more advertisements then before. Facebook has added new features to allow customers to interact with the companies posting advertisements. When seeing an advertisement on Facebook the user will have the option to never see that advertisement again. A user can also click on a button labeled ‘about this ad’ that will provide more detailed information about the company and advertisement being shown.

Facebook is taking further steps to boost their advertising and help companies’ better target their customers. Tracking buying habits through mobile will expand the data that is used in targeting segments and deliver advertisements to in-market customers.

Contact an Internet marketing consultant today to start advertising your business on Facebook.

When the Google Penguin update originally came out it was designed to reduce web spam. This was accomplished by targeting websites with link profiles that appeared manipulated. In 2012, the Google Penguin update penalized sites that had a high percentage of spammed links on their link profiles. Starting at 80 percent, then 65 percent and finally penalizing sites with 50 percent unnatural links. These frequent changes in Google Penguin had dropped the rankings of several sites on Google. The plus side, Google improves search visibility by reducing manipulative links.

With another major Google Penguin Update just around the corner, you might find your website knocked off of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP’s). Keep your website out of the crosshairs with these 3 ways to prepare for Google Penguin 2.0.

1. Stay away from bad areas

Google is able to see where links come from and can track manipulative links to a certain area of the link graph. The bad areas are what you need to stay away from; this is where spammed links come from, which can include links from low-quality sites and duplicated content. Make sure you understand your link profile and where your links are coming from.

2. Add Value through Content

Links are best when they are earned. Contributing and adding value through content is the best way to guarantee this. Content should constantly be updated and added, and unnecessary content should be removed. This is the best way to make sure your content is unique and will help acquire links that are not manipulated. Make sure you are using a proper search engine optimization strategy to be seen through search.

3. Build your presence with Social Media

Having a bigger presence on Social Media sites will help assure your links are unique. This will allow for new content to be shared more frequently. Your company can steer clear of manipulative links through a presence on social media sites and great SEO.

Google Penguin 2.0 is being released to help filter web spam in search. Following the correct precautions will assure your business is not being affected by the penalties that come with the new update. Use proper Internet marketing and search engine optimization strategies for your company and you should never have to worry about Google Updates again.

Contact an Internet marketing consultant today for more information on SERP’s and search engine optimization for your business.

How do you get somebody to click on your pay-per-click advertising campaign? By implementing the proper paid search strategy.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising is both extremely effective and extremely risky. If you don’t have the proper planning and strategy in place for your pay-per-click advertising program, you can waste a tremendous amount of money very quickly.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising is the fastest way to get your message to the top of major search engines and in front of potential customers at their exact time of need. A properly executed and maintained campaign can garner very positive results.

Listen in as Single Throw’s VP of Business Development, Dan Beldowicz, talks about creating the mindset behind a successful PPC campaign.

Pay-Per-Click is only one part of your Internet marketing strategy. To learn more about how to implement a successful PPC campaign into your existing marketing strategy, click here or call one of our Internet marketing consultants at 888.920.9778.

Social Media Networks  such as Twitter, Instagram and Google+ are known for using hashtags to group messages that mention a specific word or phrase. This is a great marketing tool for businesses to track what customers are saying about their brand. With the new changes being made to Facebook Graph Search and the updated Newsfeed, Facebook has recently considered incorporating hashtags as well.

Hashtags, the new SEO for Facebook

Hashtags, as seen on other social media networks, optimize words or phrases that are meant to draw users’ attention. Using certain hashtags for your business will provide the search engine optimization for your content to appear to the right users. Hashtags will allow your business to show up for people that have similar interests and demographics to the topics being discussed. For example, if your business is a Burger Restaurant, you could hashtag #TheBestBurgers to motivate users to mention your business. If a user is searching for a burger restaurant in the area, your business may show up!

Improve Graph Search

The introduction of Facebook’s Graph Search has changed the way users search on Facebook. Graph Search allows users to search based on their likes and the likes of their friends. Since the “Like” is so common, with people liking as many pages as they want quickly, search results may not always appear accurately. Hashtags can help businesses reach users who are interested in their brands and provide more precise results for users. This is a win-win for businesses and users!

The Easy Way to Provide Feedback

As a user you can like a brand’s page, which allows you to like posts and comment on their page. Brands can filter what they want to show on their page, weeding out certain posts. With new changes to Facebook, following your brand’s hashtags is a simple way to get honest feedback from your users. Instead of having to go to your business’ page to post a comment, users can simply hashtag a word or phrase related to your brand. Businesses can participate in hashtag conversations that relate to their brand, whether it is about a topic or product that is relative.

Hashtags on Facebook can be great for your business, just don’t go hashtag overboard! This can be used as a great Internet marketing tool.  Use simple but unique hashtags that users can remember, allowing them to hashtag easily. Hashtags show that other users are interested in a certain topic or brand because it took more time and effort than a “Like”.

Contact an Internet marketing consultant today to learn about the advantages of Facebook and social networking for your business.